Four of Four...

Here's a fun game... If you would like to play along - go to your fourth folder of pictures on your computer and choose the fourth picture... then post it and explain it. Let me know when your posting is up so that I can see it!!

So... this photo is of JJ and me on "Fat Tuesday" in 2000. JJ is only five years old. We love New Orleans (anyone miss all those postings from our visit to NOLA in October? If you saw them - you know how special the city is to us!) Anyway, we celebrate Mardi Gras every year. We usually celebrate with our good friends and neighbors - Kerry, Dodi and Alyssa. This photo was taken just before they arrived for our annual feast! Good times - good friends - good memories. These are the things that life is made of!

Happy Thanksgiving

I think that Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday... well, next to Christmas! Apart from the delicious meal that we all partake in - Thanksgiving is a time for us to count our blessings and reflect on all that we are thankful for.

I am thankful for my wonderful family that surrounds me - and for those that have gone on to the hereafter. My life is so much richer for having had you all present. My beautiful son, my wonderful husband, our beautiful grown up kids and spouses and grand kids! We are thankful for all of you.

I am thankful for the blessing of so many wonderful friends - both in person and blogging. Because I come from a very small family - I tend to consider my friends "family". Life wouldn't be the same without all of you. We have laughed together, learned together, cried together, and enjoyed spending time with each other. I am so happy that you are all in my life.

I am thankful for the opportunity of freedom and for my right of free speech and for living in a country - although flawed - that we are allowed to be different and can appreciate each other for our differences.

I am thankful for all of the blessings that the Lord has bestowed on me. Too many to write about. I've had a pretty lucky life. I was fortunate enough to have the most amazing upbringing and the most amazing family. Not all children are as lucky - and my heart breaks when I think about those that are not as fortunate.

I wish for all of you the most wonderful Thanksgiving and a beautiful holiday season. May God Bless each and every one of us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sometimes I Wonder...

Sometimes I wonder where this is all going. Times are scary. People are losing their homes and their jobs. I wonder if I will be next. (not losing our home... but being unemployed) There are wars, and there is poverty, and the stock market keeps falling and falling and falling. I heard on the news today, "Has the stock market fallen as far as it can go?" I screamed at the television, NO! Unfortunately - no....

Sometimes I wonder... what my life would be like if I lived in a different country. In a country where women were considered second class citizens, and where we didn't have the same rights that we do in the wonderful USA. What would my days be like? Would I know that I wasn't being treated fairly? Or would I just "take it" and not know the difference?

Sometimes I wonder... what would it be like if we didn't have freedom of speech, freedom of choice, freedom of religion. That would not be an experience I would want to have. Even though many of us in the U.S. disagree with each other when it comes to politics and religion - it is so nice to know that THAT is our right! We live a great country.

Sometimes I wonder... what life would be like if it were like the John Lennon song, "Imagine". Peace and love and everyone happy and living together in harmony. That would be such a beautiful thing. I wonder if I will ever have an opportunity to experience life like that in the years I have left on this Earth? Probably not. But, that really WOULD be wonderful.

I don't know... maybe I'm just getting older. Maybe I'm just nostalgic for life as it was when I was young and carefree and didn't worry about these things.
I know that I feel blessed to be surrounded by my family, and to have the most wonderful friends, and that we all have our health. I feel blessed that I have a job that I enjoy and that I have a roof over my head and food on my table. But, I kinda like living in denial and not thinking about all the bad things that happen in the world. As I said to my friend the other day, "I rather enjoy living in CindyLand where everyone is happy and there isn't a care in the world."

I'll close for now... I'm headed back to "CindyLand". Have a happy weekend!

Central Oregon

Last weekend we decided to head over to Central Oregon for a couple of days. We rented a beautiful two bedroom condo in Sunriver. Wow! We were really pleased with this find. All the comforts (and then some) of home!

On Saturday we visited the Nature Center at Sunriver. It was an absolutely gorgeous autumn day. Brilliant sunshine and a moderate 60 degrees! We couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

A stately bald eagle lives at the Nature Center in a flight cage. This means he can fly away when he desires, but is kept safe from other animals when he decides to be in his cage. We were the only visitors while we were there - so the eagle was extremely interested in us, but slightly afraid of us too. It took us a long while to snap some decent photos of him. Here are two of our favorites.

We had a perfect family weekend watching movies, enjoying the sunshine, doing a little shopping and making chocolate chip cookies. Oh! And Cindy discovered "Dancing with the Stars" for the Wii. John is now concerned that he may never again regain control of the Wii....